I was raised as a Christian, and that upbringing gave me an interesting view of Israel. In sepia tone, I imagined Israel as an old land where people wore white robes and sandals, drank wine, ate loaves and fish, and rode donkeys. In my mind, Israel wasn’t a country, it was simply a story. As a child, if you asked me to point out Israel on a map, I would probably point up to the sky, because I thought Israel was in the clouds…literally.

    Growing up in a small town, Israel wasn’t a hot button issue. While Israel and Jerusalem were mentioned in Sunday school, Bible studies, and church camp – I never imagined that Israel had modern cities, beautiful beaches, a democratic government, or world-class universities. Furthermore, I didn’t know why or how Israel mattered to me. Whenever I heard the word “Israel” I instantly thought of “Jesus times”. Unfortunately, my curiosity about Israel stopped there. It wasn’t until I came to college that my interests in Israel blossomed.

    While at UT, I’ve served in numerous leadership roles including President of the Interfraternity Council, Board of Directors for the Eastside Community Connection, and Executive Director of Student Government. I used to solely focus on issues facing the communities I was involved with, but now, I put those efforts into Israel too. The change happened when I studied as a Normandy Scholar.

    In the Normandy Scholar Program, I studied anything and everything about World War II. While I was reading about a Christian resistance movement in Nazi Germany, I stumbled upon a quote from Pastor Martin Niemöller. Niemöller was a Protestant priest who became dissatisfied with the Nazi influence on the Christian Church. In resistance to the Nazis, Niemöller founded the Confessing Church, whose purpose was to refocus the Church on Christ and spoke out against Nazism. Eventually, Niemöller was arrested and placed in Sachsenhausen and Dachau concentration camps from 1937 to 1945. Upon his release in 1946, Niemöller said:

“When the Nazis came for the communists,

I remained silent;

I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats,

I remained silent;

I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists,

I did not speak out;

I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for the Jews,

I did not speak out;

I was not a Jew.

When they came for me,

there was no one left to speak out.”

    That quote stuck with me. When a good friend of mine, Danielle Rugoff, talked with me almost a year later, she said “The State of Israel needs help, and not just from Jews, but from everyone”. Immediately, I thought of Martin Niemöller, and I realized how much I DIDN’T want to be like him. I chose to speak out.

    Today, I’ve got a really messy room. My desk looks like Office Depot threw up post-it notes all over it. My floor is covered in old Drudge Report article, issues of The Economist, along with dirty socks and underwear. My bed is unmade, I have candles to ward off what my girlfriend calls “boy funk”, and my bookshelf is almost tipping over because I refuse to sell my books back to the CO-OP.

    BUT…on my wall hangs a simple blue and white flag…the other Lone Star State.

    When my roommates and I have people over to watch football or Grey’s Anatomy, people have to pass by my bedroom to use our restroom. What’s funny is that people rarely notice my untidy bedroom. Instead, they spot my flag on the wall and ask one simply question: You’re Jewish? And, I’m like, shalom.

    No, in reality, I’ve now caught their attention and I can talk with them about Israel. It’s as easy as 1-2-3.

    In just a moment, you will hear a lecture from Richard Dreyfuss on Ethical Leadership. But before you do, I would like to share my definition of Ethical Leadership.

    Ethical Leadership is honest. Ethical Leadership is outspoken. Ethical Leadership is open; yet, positioned. And Ethical Leadership is never misleading or manipulative.

I stand before you today, not just as a Campus Leader, but as an outspoken and staunch advocate for the State of Israel.

As long as people like yourselves exist, so will Israel. 
    Today, put up a flag, call your best friend or parents, or simply go out and vote for pro-Israel candidates. Let this university…hell…let the world know who you stand with. Thank you for letting me share this experience with you tonight.

God Bless you all, and God Bless the State of Israel.